Monday May 6th

According to On This Day in1626 Dutch colonist Peter Minuit organizes the purchase of Manhattan Island from Native Americans for 60 guilders worth of goods, believed to have been Canarsee Indians of the Lenape

and according to Fact/MythThe Dutch Traded Manhattan to the English for NutmegAt the height of the spice trade, the Dutch traded Manhattan to the English for the Nutmeg-rich Run Island via the 1674 Treaty of Westminster. This treaty ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War (if not “the Nutmeg Wars“) and allowed Britain to officially claim the land it had already occupied illegally since 1664. Until 100 years later when the Dutch’s monopoly goes bankrupt, the American patriots take Manhattan, and the British take the island again before giving it back to the Dutch.

26 thoughts on “Monday May 6th”

He spoke eight times with Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators, appeared before three congressional committees and helped federal prosecutors with at least two criminal inquiries into President Trump’s inner circle. But on Monday, perhaps the most important number in Michael D. Cohen’s life will be 1,095: the number of days in a three-year prison term.

Mr. Cohen, the president’s former fixer and current antagonist, must report to the federal prison in Otisville, N.Y., where he is to begin serving his sentence for campaign finance violations, tax evasion and other crimes. He pleaded guilty last year to arranging a hush money scheme in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, involving two women who said they had had affairs with Mr. Trump.

[…]

“He’s going to jail, and the president is still flying around on Air Force One,” said Donny Deutsch, a friend of Mr. Cohen and the host of “Saturday Night Politics With Donny Deutsch” on MSNBC. “There’s something wrong with that, period. No matter how you feel about Michael, no matter how you feel about the president, that to me is not justice.”

The United States is deploying an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East on short notice in response to “clear indications” Iran and Iranian proxies were planning an attack on U.S. forces in the region, a U.S. official said.

Late Sunday night, the White House made a surprise announcement that the USS Abraham Lincoln and a bomber task force were being deployed in response to unspecified “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings.”

A statement from National Security Adviser John Bolton said the deployments were intended “to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”

“The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces,” the statement continued.

A U.S. official told ABC News the deployments were in response to “clear indications” Iranian and Iranian proxy forces were preparing for a possible attack, and that the decision to send forces was made on Sunday.

“The movement of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the region was expedited, and it was ordered there effective immediately,” said the official.

There have been escalating rounds of fatal violencebetween Hamas, the armed Palestinian group in Gaza, and the Israeli military in recent days, but an American official said that was not related to the military ramp-up in the Persian Gulf. Although Iran hasprovided financingto Hamas, there is no sign that it was involved in the recent rocket attacks against Israel.
…
On Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran signed a bill into lawthat declared all American troops in the Middle East terrorists and labeled the United States government a state sponsor of terrorism.
…
Mr. Pompeo has said Iran bears more responsibility for ongoing violence in the Middle East than any other actor, even though the American military has been focused on fighting the Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group to which the Shiite government of Iran is opposed.

The Trump administration also has criticized Iran for its support of Hezbollah, the Lebanese political and military group, and of the Houthis, a Shiite rebel group in Yemen.
Iranian forces and their proxy fighters have generally refrained from attacking American troops in recent years.
…

Not exactly any kind of direct ties to anything as I read it. Who knows – maybe the pentagon knows of some direct action by Iran that would justify SFB going to Congress to get permission to go to war – but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.

No direct ties, no. There are just co-incidentally thousands of Iranian ‘volunteers’, who have taken time off from their regular duties at the revolutionary guard to aid their Sunni pals make mischief in Lebanon, and war in Syria, Gaza and Yemen.
An unsteady peace between Iran and Pakistan in Baluchistan makes the deployment of the rev guards in the West possible. The strong possibility of war between Pakistan and India “over Kashmir” makes this possible. The very strong possibility of war between Bangla Desh and Myanmar makes any damn horrible thing possible.

Well, I have to confess that yesterday morning I celebrated Flatus’ b-day too. So with my second breakfast and the last cup of coffee I had a slug of brandy. It was good. So this morning I got to thinking, a man like Flatus shouldn’t be celebrated on just one day. With that thought, I just finished my second breakfast and poured my last cup of coffee with brandy. Here is to you Flatus, I hope you are recovering from all the partying. Lets do this again next year.
Jack

XR, the country in which the threat against which we are responding isn’t among the countries you have listed – aside from the unsteady peace between Iran and Pakistan, which the SFB admin hasn’t mentioned – at least not that I’ve heard. Sorry but general threats somewhere in the Middle East that may or may not put our assets or allies, whoever the hell they may be, in jeopardy does not IMHO justify putting our service personnel in harms way to make our idiot president seem tough on terrorists.

were plans for the carrier movement discussed during that 90 minutes (according to what Russia reported – our press wasn’t in the info loop of course) chit chat between vlad and his sidekick? Venezuela was.

is that bromance on the phone not strange when all these hot spots for which we’re providing costly materiel (and even more preciously costly troops or at least spl ops) are where Russia is stirring up trouble, advising or materially assisting the other side? ukraine, Syria, north korea, iran etc etc

The Russian embassy in Washington said that it was President Donald Trump who initiated the call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and that the conversation lasted 90 minutes.

Trump said Friday that the call ― which sparked controversy in part because he acknowledged he did not raise the issue of election interference with Putin ― was “probably more than an hour.”

Putin urged Trump to “ease the sanction pressure” on North Korea as that nation makes a “good-faith fulfillment of its commitment,” apparently to denuclearize, the Russian embassy said on Facebook.

The phone conversation occurred the day before Kim Jong Un’s regime fired a barrage of unidentified projectiles into the Sea of Japan. A North Korean statement on Saturday said the test of “large-caliber long-range” rocket launchers and “tactical guided weapons” was intended to “increase the combat ability” of the country.

The Russian embassy in Washington said that it was President Donald Trump who initiated the call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and that the conversation lasted 90 minutes.

Trump said Friday that the call ― which sparked controversy in part because he acknowledged he did not raise the issue of election interference with Putin ― was “probably more than an hour.”

Putin urged Trump to “ease the sanction pressure” on North Korea as that nation makes a “good-faith fulfillment of its commitment,” apparently to denuclearize, the Russian embassy said on Facebook.

The phone conversation occurred the day before Kim Jong Un’s regime fired a barrage of unidentified projectiles into the Sea of Japan. A North Korean statement on Saturday said the test of “large-caliber long-range” rocket launchers and “tactical guided weapons” was intended to “increase the combat ability” of the country.

Jack, I’m always up for celebrating bdays. My after 1700 beverage of choice is brandy–nothing fancy, E&J VSOP. I will have a single glass-espresso-cup sipped over an evening. No buzz; but, Peace on Earth.

In the SFB facist/nazi/white supremacist/white nationalist “America” it feels weird to listen to non-English songs on EU Internet radio stations. Are freedom stations to be blocked by the dicator-wannabe?
Right now I am listening to a German internet radio station. There are no songs in “English?. Will those not be allowed in the US under the SFB dicatorship?

What is interesting to me is how the EU radio stations are so far in front of the US stations.

Watching SFB being moved around reminds me of Weekend At Bernies. And, there is something that “dude” that is not all there. It is very good that the Dems took over the House, otherwise we would be in 1500’s Europe.

Mr Pogo, responding to yours of 2:44 pm,
I agree. Unfortunately, our personnel are in harm’s way in Korea & Japan. That’s more than enough. Also unfortunately, we are in Syria, Iraq, the Persian Gulf, Diego Garcia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya, and Pakistan.
The point of my rant was just that our vacant and rudderless White House & State Dep’t are both playing solitaire while the rim of Asia is setting up like dominoes, ready to come crashing down from the Yellow Sea to the Mediterranean. The grown ups have left the planet.

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